Creating a Miniature Garden Part 3 - Final

Finally, the side garden portion of the Camp MiniHaHa '12 project is done. I added the last bits this morning, now all that is left is to put up the bird shelter and add the as yet to be repainted cat. This is an overview of the completed garden.

The newly added plants in the right side of the garden include bergamot, dusty miller, leucanthemum or crazy daisy, astilbe, and the ageratum and alyssum at the very front. The sunflowers have had some leaves added so their stems didn't look quite so bare. I wish I could still get the heavy gauge covered flower wire I used for the sunflower and hollyhock stems, but I can't, locally. Hopefully once I figure out what gauge I was using, I can order it via the internet.

The right side of the garden has also gotten a dusty miller, and some ageratum and alyssum along the very front edge. The ageratum was made with railroad foliage clusters and custom-mixed flocking for the tiny fuzzy purple flowers. The alyssum is reindeer moss with the tiniest white flower punchies, cut with a custom cutter from Ruth Hanke, of Hanky Panky Crafts. I still need to add some leaves to the hollyhock stems, but have to buy the punch first!

Some of the flowers I developed for this garden will also show up in my Apothecary Garden, which I will be working on in October. Bergamot is what gives Earl Grey tea its distinctive flavour, it belongs in a herbal garden. Dusty Miller is an Artemisia, the family from which wormwood, the dangerous ingredient in absinthe and a flavouring for vermouth, is distilled. And I think I've figured out how to make a fairly convincing camomile plant....

All in all, I am very happy with this garden. It was more work than I had planned, and got fancier than I had planned as well. Now on to decorating the front of the shop, then it will be the inside. I need to make lavender, pansies and possibly a hydrangea, as well as making the prototypes for my gift exchange items and tidbits for this year's Camp MiniHaHa, the end of September.

By the way, most of the plants in the garden were made with scrapbooking-type punches; if anyone wants a particular tutorial, let me know and I will add it on the blog. The flowers are mostly paper, both commercial coloured paper and hand-painted, much of the foliage is also paper, and I also used coloured sand and ground foam, as well as flocking, to make some of the plant parts.

Feedback is always very welcome!